


Plowed Fields and New Beginnings

by littlemisstpk



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Farm/Ranch, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Hot Springs, Intercrural Sex, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Oral Sex, POV Alternating, POV Third Person, POV Third Person Limited, Pool Sex, Stardew Valley - Freeform, Stardew Valley fusion AU, Tsukihina weekend 2019, can definitely skip the spicy, rating is only for chapter 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2020-01-05 02:27:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18356726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlemisstpk/pseuds/littlemisstpk
Summary: When Hinata Shouyou discovers that the mysterious envelope willed to him by his late grandfather contains the deed to his old farm, he escapes his soul-crushing office for a pastoral life.He did not expect his snarky childhood friend to grow up to be so hot.Written for Tsukihina Weekend 2019.





	1. Change

**Author's Note:**

> What happens when Liz plays too many video games but still wants to write? Ideas like this pop out.
> 
> No apologies.
> 
> Thanks to [Blueismybusiness](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blueismybusiness) for betaing this monstrosity!
> 
> I also have a [twitter](https://twitter.com/littlemisstpk?s=09) where I procrastinate and occasionally meme about life.

Hinata Shouyou looked at the same line of the spreadsheet he had opened, the cells blurring together through both fatigue and disinterest. _Work at the office_ , they said, _you'll make great money, they said_. _Liars_ , Shouyou thought, doing his best to not nod off to sleep in front of his terminal, and instead looking directly up into the lens of the security camera attached to the wall of the cubicle with the contempt it deserved.

The cameras had been Kageyama's idea, after they had broken up. Yes, they had chemistry, but a nuclear bomb had chemistry while being extremely destructive. No matter how great the sex was (and it was fucking fantastic, nothing else could compare, and Shouyou gave himself _lots_ of comparisons), it was not worth the cruel, dismissive ridicule that Kageyama directed at him directly after Grandpappy died. It was the straw the broke the camel's back, proverbially speaking, but Kenma called Shouyou an idiot for not leaving sooner, and Koji and Izumi rolled their eyes at him behind his back for the same reason.

This particular spring day seemed to be worse than most, because while he missed his Grandpappy with every fibre of his being since his passing the year before, Shouyou never actually seriously considered the mysterious envelope willed to him beyond idle curiosity in his darkest moments. The message accompanying it directed, “Do not open it, dear Shouyou, until the pressures of modern life become too difficult to bear.” He had been tempted to open it before, but as Shouyou caught the pinched, angry expression on Kageyama's face from across the sea of cubicles after one of Oikawa's pranks, he knew what he had to do as soon as he got home.

It was a mercifully short wait before Shouyou was allowed to make his escape, and after enduring the cramped bus ride home, he rifled through the drawer where he kept all of his tax documents until he found the slightly battered envelope sealed with purple wax. It was a familiar sight, his Grandpappy's simple cursive on the front simply stating, “Shouyou”, and the slightly textured paper holding the faint, lingering grime off Shouyou's hands from the few times he considered ending it all. This time, he went a bit further, and released the seal to unearth the contents. As he quickly skimmed the documents inside, Shouyou found himself having to find a chair so he could sit down before he fainted.

Inside the envelope was a deed to a house and a significant portion of farmland in the place where all his favourite childhood memories were created. Shouyou had no clue of how farming really worked, but he was willing to try and learn if it meant escape from his current life and the hell that Kageyama actively created in his day-to-day life.

With his direction clear, Shouyou relished the purple tint to Kageyama's face as he handed in his written resignation the following day, and began the process of leaving his life in the city behind. Immediately, a weight lifted off of Shouyou's shoulders, and his sister Natsu happily let him stay in her tiny apartment as the last of his things were shipped to the middle of nowhere. While he looked at Natsu's dingy ceiling as he lay back on the slowly deflating air mattress, Shouyou bit back the excited yell that was building up within him.

In the morning, Shouyou boarded the rickety bus to Torono as the sole passenger, and he watched as Natsu's waving figure became smaller and smaller as he made his escape from the city. The long trip was punctuated by signs counting down the distance to his new home, gradually going from two hundred miles, to one hundred, to fifty, then ten, until finally he could see the small village nestled along the ocean shoreline from a mile away. The highway into town wove through the mountains and descended towards the sandy beach below. Finally, the bus shuddered to a stop into the terminal bay, and allowed Shouyou to disembark.

He was immediately greeted by a tall, beautiful woman.

“My name is Shimuzu Kiyoko. Mayor Ukai has asked me to show you around. The mayor mentioned that you had some familiarity with the area, but that it had been a while.” She paused as Shouyou arranged his backpack and his duffel bag to begin his trek to the farm.

Turning right out of the shabby bus terminal, Shimizu turned to Shouyou. “I’m sorry for your loss. Your grandfather is still deeply missed.”

Shouyou forced a half-smile onto his face, and only nodded in response.

It was not a long walk, maybe a quarter mile down the dirt road, but the sight of the small farmhouse at the end of the overgrown trail brought memories of a bright white house with blue shutters, a large red barn, and a gently sloping hill overlooking the forest that guarded the property from the stiff breeze coming from the ocean beyond. His memories were rose-tinged and full of laughter and life, and as the farmhouse came into sight, Shouyou realized just how much of his recollections were coloured by nostalgia.

The farmhouse in the present was still white, but the paint had cracked off to the point where the worn white was punctuated by copious amounts of weathered grey wood. Several of the shutters were askew, and the small garden in front of the porch attached to the house had turned into a jungle. What was a gentle slope of a hill was now a veritable forest, and the large, imposing barn had collapsed with old age and neglect. A wave of sadness surged through Shouyou, and for the first time since he had unearthed the deed, he mildly regretted his decision.

Fighting the emotions that overcame him upon seeing the house and his land, Shouyou faintly heard Shimizu mention something about Torono having just enough amenities to make do. He stood on the threshold of his now-home, hesitating just long enough for him to wave off his guide. The interior of the home contrasted with the outside, as if obvious care had been spared. Based on the exterior, Shouyou had expected a mountain of dust covering the surfaces, and a heady scent of must to greet him. Instead, the worn features looked cared for, were dust free, and welcoming centerpiece was arranged on the dining table. The living room was clean, but bare, except for the boxes that Shouyou had shipped before leaving the city, and Shouyou put himself to work unpacking.

* * *

The sun rose the following morning, and the lack of curtains on Shouyou’s bedroom window meant that the sun shone directly into his eyes, working better than any cell phone or clock radio ever invented to get people going in the morning. He started his day by surveying his land and the tools on hand, as well as plotting where would be the best place to start his enterprise. By the time he was finished, it was nearly lunchtime, and his stomach was rumbling.

Shouyou’s new plot of land was just under a half mile from the town, but it was flat, and in the light of the new day, Shouyou saw that the dirt road itself was a little overgrown. He absently kicked at a few weeds, and his previous soccer skills came in handy as bundles of green went flying quite far ahead with precision, clearing them from the road as he came upon them. It was inconvenient as he remembered playing with a small freckled boy and his shy, blond friend with glasses, because the more that Shouyou remembered his fun times as a child visiting his grandfather, it cemented how many things change over time.

Shouyou entered the town proper, and breathed in the salty, sea air. It featured few colourful houses, and even fewer commercial buildings, which Shouyou determined to be a single shop and the health clinic that served as the hospital. Finding his choice made for him, he entered the shop bearing a faded sign that Shouyou could read as “Sakanoshita Shop”.

The door chimed as it opened, and he immediately noticed that there were very few prepared foodstuffs compared to what he was used to back in the city. Shouyou started wandering the shelves, and unlike the grocery stores he used to frequent, Sakanoshita boasted seeds and fertilizer to aid the burgeoning farmer. There weren’t that many of them either, and as Shouyou compared the outsides of the packages, he started to feel completely out of his depth.

“We only sell seeds that can be planted this season.” With a yelp from Shouyou, a bored, monotone voice jolted him out of the decision making process. Turning around, Shouyou saw that a very tall man with glasses had spoken to him. The blond hair and the glasses sparked Shouyou's memories, but his former playmate's name was lost through the two decades he was away from the town.

“Thanks.” Shouyou shot the other man a bright smile, and let out the anxious breath he had been holding. While Shouyou started grabbing seed packets with abandon, he studied the tall man out of the corner of his eye. The blond hair was a little bit shorter, he himself was at least two feet taller, but the eyes held a weight that showed a world-weariness that Shouyou immediately recognized from his own experience, but heat flushed under his skin as Shouyou felt attracted to the other man to a magnitude he hadn't felt since Kageyama.

To try and tamp down on his feelings, Shouyou debated how he was going to get all the seeds he had picked out to the counter while carrying the jug of fertilizer in one trip, a process he had remembered from playing Harvest Moon, he heard the bell ring once again. A freckled face poked his head inside and called out, “Tsukki, don’t forget to eat lunch today!”

Just as the blond man groused, “Shut up, Yamaguchi,” a man with bleach-blond hair tied back with a headband and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth yelled, “If you’re going to come in here, at least buy something, Tadashi!”

With a laugh, Yamaguchi closed the door. Shouyou placed the seed packets on top of the jug of fertilizer, and as he hefted the entire bundle, he couldn’t quite make out what “Tsukki” was saying to the other man, until he heard a loud, “I’m not old! I’m only a few years older than you! Fuck you, Tsukishima.”

As Shouyou turned the corner, he saw that there was no venom in the bottle-blond’s eyes, and he was reminded of how Kenma and Kuroo interacted, back when he lived in the city. Tsukishima even had a proud look on his face as he stared the shorter man down. Shouyou placed his load onto the counter near the back of the store, and picked up a few prepared items to fill his cupboards.

The bottle-blond took his position behind the counter, and as he started ringing up the order, he looked over Shouyou. “Wow, there’s no denying that you’re related to Shoutaro.” Shouyou took a deep breath at the mention of his Grandpappy’s name, but he managed to school his features, replacing the wave of sadness with a wobbly smile.

After the order was paid for (it took more of his funds than he was willing to admit), the clerk smiled widely, and said, “You got a lot today. I’ll give you a delivery service for free.”

Without hesitation, Tsukishima piped up from the seed shelf he was restocking, “No. Fuck off, Ukai.”

Ukai stood on his tiptoes to get a better look at where Tsukishima was crouching. “Mom’s making strawberry shortcake tonight. I can save some for you.”

It took a couple moments that passed by in complete silence, but Shouyou saw Tsukishima rise to tower over the shelf. The taller man looked into the older man’s eyes, and bit out a “Fine.”

By the time that Tsukishima had gathered the fertilizer and the groceries, Shouyou saw that all that remained was the bag filled with seed packets. Taking that in hand, he looked a little ridiculous as the skinny beanpole that was Tsukishima looked almost over laden with heavy goods, and Shouyou only had a small bag to hold. With that, he opened the door and held it for Tsukishima.

The walk back to the farm was mostly silent, but it gave Shouyou the opportunity to regard the man who was blatantly bribed to help him. Tsukishima was tall and on the skinny side, but as he carried Shouyou's supplies that half mile out of town, Shouyou took note of lean ropes of muscle corded along the visible portion of Tsukishima's forearm where he was flexing as he was carrying.

Shouyou's mouth went dry, and in a effort to prevent himself from looking like a lecherous creep in front of someone new, he turned his attention to Tsukishima’s green tie dyed shirt sporting a Jurassic Park logo on it. Before he could stop the words coming out of his mouth, Shouyou found himself asking, “So you still like dinosaurs?”

Tsukishima gave Shouyou a withering look in response, and otherwise didn't respond.

The aborted question hung heavily in the air, and Shouyou gave up asking questions for the rest of the short walk to his farmhouse.

* * *

When Shouyou still lived in the city, he felt ashamed that his life seemed to revolve around office politics. It was a survival tactic: Shouyou was a friendly person who didn't follow the strict, territorial clique structure that pervaded the cubes, preferring not to limit himself to a single group. It was a habit that followed him to Torono, as Shouyou got to know his new neighbours and their colourful personalities.

Ushijima, his fellow farmer who lived closer to the forest, gave him frighteningly blunt advice about the quality of the soil on his land. Tendou was eccentric, and had an uncanny ability to find fish in the local area. Yachi was fearful, but enjoyed talking photos of the area, especially in the forest near Shouyou's farm. Shimizu was the local librarian and taskmaster behind her loyal following, Nishinoya and Tanaka, who did most of the odd jobs around town. Yamaguchi worked part time at the clinic under Takeda, the resident doctor. Mayor Ukai terrified people by existing, but Shouyou found him to be a nice old man with great stories about Grandpappy, and his grandson Keishin owned the sole shop in town. There were a few older folks who didn’t seem pleased that Shouyou had arrived in town, but for the most part, they were few and far between.

As easy as Shouyou found parsing the relationship web of the entire town, the person he had the most trouble reading was Tsukishima. Tsukishima was extremely guarded, but he relaxed when Yamaguchi was around, or when he teased Ukai while working his part time job. Shouyou reasoned, he was looking in Tsukishima’s direction so often because he was a puzzle that he hadn't quite figured out, the fact that the tall man was his exact type (tall, handsome and angry) was immaterial.

One of the more puzzling things about Tsukishima was that despite how much his face indicated that he hated the world and how awkward their first attempt and conversation was, he came to Shouyou's farm on a regular basis. It wasn't an everyday occurrence, as it only happened when Tsukishima wasn't working at Sakanoshita that particular day, where their limited conversation turned into a snark fest about farming, and Shouyou learning farming techniques by accident. Still, as time went on, Shouyou found himself looking forward to the times where Tsukishima would arrive on his doorstep, despite the digs to his intelligence.

It was on a bright day close to summer and his crops already watered when Shouyou realized how integrated he was getting into the social fabric of Torono. The night before, Shouyou had received a vague email from Kunimi about visiting the summer festival in Torono, a direct copy of a tourist ad. Shouyou wasn't a complete idiot: disappearing relatively quickly without mentioning where he was going, then getting an email from his ex's best friend with exactly where Shouyou was? That was how he found himself hacking at a tree with the axe he randomly found in amongst the tools his grandpappy had left him. The axe itself seemed to be designed to be wielded with one hand, but Shouyou grasped it with both hands, and whacked at the tree stump in front of him with all his might.

As the yell that had been building within him at the sight of the email came forward, Hinata attacked the stump with wild abandon. When he paused to take in a deep breath at the end of his scream, he heard a sly, “You know, there is a thing as ‘the right tool for the job.’”

Shouyou looked up, and saw Tsukishima standing near the steps of his porch, looking on at the sight with a small, amused smile.

“Unless you can think of something better, then this will have to do.” Shouyou lightly waved his hand axe around to punctuate his point.

Tsukishima smiled wider, and went into the shack where Shouyou stored his second hand tools. A few minutes later, he emerged with a small saw on an extendable pole and a larger axe with curved handle to maximize leverage.

As Shouyou took the larger axe in hand, Tsukishima directed him to make deep wedges into the trunk, effectively killing the tree and draining the wood of bulk as well.

“This should be ready to come out by the end of fall. It'll be a lot easier to wait than to try it now.”

Shouyou took up his axe, and continued to make other wedges around the base of the trunk. He looked over at where Tsukishima was standing, concentrating on the jungle of rose bushes that protected his front porch. Not for the first time, Shouyou felt comfortable without talking, all while not being ignored like it seemed to always be the case when he was still with Kageyama.

His friendship with Tsukishima felt fundamentally different in other ways. Even though it had started as rocky as his relationship with Kageyama had, Shouyou found that he could carry on a conversation with Tsukishima that was beyond volleyball and bedroom kinks, and instead, owed the growing prosperity to the taller man currently restoring the view to his front door.

Shouyou couldn't pay back Tsukishima for the backhanded generosity he had been given, but he could certainly try and support his new friend.


	2. Jealousy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsukishima leads an uninteresting life: underemployed, living with his mother as he approaches thirty and too poor to escape the small town he grew up in. When Hinata arrives in Torono, his life becomes anything but boring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the chapter that felt like it never ended, always "just 1k more" and never feeling done. I got flashbacks to university during finals.
> 
> It probably didn't help that I was procrastinating on [twitter.](https://twitter.com/littlemisstpk)

Tsukishima Kei looked towards the terminal where the rickety bus parked when not in use. It only moved when somebody bought a ticket to arrive or to leave, and that meant that it rarely moved from its spot in the tiny bay where it was stored. This day, however, he noticed that the bus was missing from its normal spot, and before he could investigate further, Kei noticed Mayor Ukai with his grumpy grandson in tow.

“Kei, my boy!” The mayor’s voiced boomed through Kei, making him wince at the experience. “I just got word that Shoutaro’s grandson is moving to Torono!”

Kei had a fleeting thought of another loud, old man who drank way too much with the mayor, who had passed away only a year before. The Hinata house had been dilapidated for a long time before his death, and its vacancy only worsened its condition.

“In that old house? I heard it was haunted.”

The mayor gave a dismissive wave. “It just needs some fixing up.”

Kei opened his mouth to immediately refuse the idea that the elder Ukai had implied, but immediately shut it when he noticed the scowl on Keishin’s face.

“Great! You two will help clean up the place?”

Kei narrowed his eyes at the mayor, and let out a sigh. “Fine.”

“Excellent! I’ll be back at four.”

As the mayor turned back towards his house, Keishin mumbled under his breath, “This is not how I wanted to spend my day off.”

Wordlessly, the two tall men made their way through the town and towards the old, abandoned farm. It had been ages since Kei had taken this particular route. It was almost as if he was ten years old again, when old man Shoutaro still had his chickens, and his fiery red hair had thick streaks of gold interspersed throughout. Kei imagined he was being sent out by his parents for another egg run, except his glasses now were smaller, and he was much taller. The road didn’t seem so long when he was grown.

As they entered the house, Keishin motioned that he would take care of the upstairs if Kei took the downstairs. He didn’t particularly want to do this, but the mayor had a nasty habit of inspiring terror when people didn’t do what he wanted.  Tying a rag over his face in an effort to stop the dust, Kei took the old broom from the closet and began to work.

He started in the living room, and one of the first things that Kei noticed was that Shoutaro’s personal things were still on display. He wiped at one of the picture frames to clear the mountain of dust and grime from it, and as the glass cleared, he saw that it was a picture of the old man and two young children, both the spitting image of Shoutaro himself. Seeing that the image of Shoutaro in the picture was the same as the one from his mind’s eye on the trip to the old farm, Kei quickly figured out that the smiling, gregarious boy pictured was likely his own age.

He was cute, Kei thought, but he had also seen pictures of Akiteru when he was younger when he was adorable and not a troll who liked to bother his brother too much on the rare occasion that he came home. He put the thought out of his mind and instead, worked on making the house habitable again. It took all day to get the downstairs to his exacting standards, but Kei managed it, finishing his work with arranging a centerpiece on the table for its new occupant. 

It was a couple days later that Kei met the new occupant of Shoutaro’s farm in person. Kei was in the process of stocking some of the shelves in Keishin’s shop when he heard the bell above the door ring. It was definitely the boy from the picture, and now that Kei could see him in person, he figured that the younger Hinata was definitely the same age as him. The pure cuteness of the child in the picture had morphed into handsome with a touch of softness that made Kei’s eyes widen and his mouth salivate.

Kei busied himself into his work by arranging some of the canned soup so that each label was perfectly displayed and in line with one another, to the point where even the finicky mayor would not be able to pick apart Kei's work. Just as Kei took in the full effects of his efforts, he heard a small whine coming from the seed section. 

Kei popped his head over the shelves to see Hinata ponder several seed varieties. 

“We only carry seeds that can be planted this season,” Kei supplied. Hinata yelped as he jolted towards Kei, the look of surprise and fear something foreign from Kei’s memory of Hinata’s face.

Kei remembered Sho-chan, the brash, loud, little boy who seemed to have everything but height. He had wormed his way easily into Yamaguchi’s circle, and by extension, Kei’s own playgroup. Back then, Kei’s height and aloof nature set him apart, and Sho-chan seemed able to overcome any barrier he faced, including being able to stay hidden when he was about to get in trouble. It was infuriating.

Whisked back into the present, Kei was blinded by Hinata’s smile, and his chest curled inward with pain at the sight. No one knew about who he was, except for Yamaguchi, and he was planning on keeping it that way. It was clear that with Hinata around, hiding the part of himself that preferred men over women would be difficult.

Right on cue, Yamaguchi opened the door to the shop and called out, “Tsukki, don’t forget to eat lunch today!”

Just as Kei responded with a “Shut up, Yamaguchi,” Kei heard Keishin yell out, “If you’re going to come in here, at least buy something, Tadashi!”

As Yamaguchi closed the door with a laugh, Kei padded softly over to where Keishin stood in the doorway to the store room out back, and quietly said, “If you keep this up, you’re going to sound like your grandfather. That sounded suspiciously like ‘get off my lawn, you hooligan.’”

The angry look on Keishin’s face was worth Kei’s teasing. “Fuck you, Tsukishima. I’m only a few years older than you!” Keishin was loud, and positively apoplectic. To Kei, it was a glorious sight.

Before Kei could tease his boss even more, he heard the thud of a heavy container being hoisted onto the counter where the cash register was. Keishin made his way over to help Hinata, and Kei ran into the back room to replace the seeds that Hinata had selected. As Kei emerged from the storage area with the cases he needed, he watched as Keishin mentioned Hinata’s resemblance to his grandfather, and at the odd look on Hinata’s face, Kei wanted to kick Keishin in the ass.

However, since Kei was not suicidal and valued that fact that he was even able to have a crappy part time job in a middle-of-nowhere village, he settled for glaring at the back of his boss’s head before heading to the shelf he meant to restock.

Kei was an efficient worker, and unfailingly polite to the customers, enough that all the little old ladies loved him while lamenting the fact that his older brother grew up to be such a degenerate, and as a result, Keishin had to tolerate Kei's normal caustic nature he reserved for his peers. So when Keishin offered a delivery service as if Hinata was some decrepit old bat, before Kei could stop himself, he called out, “No.” Kei placed a seed packet on the peg in front of him. “Fuck off, Ukai.”

Kei heard Keishin’s voice travel over the shelves, the magic words seeping into the deepest parts of his soul. “My mom is making strawberry shortcake tonight. I can save some for you.” Keishin's voice held a small sing-song quality, and Kei petulantly placed a couple more seed packets on a peg before he fell for the bait. 

Pushing downwards on his knees, Kei stood up to face his boss fully. “Fine,” he spit out. Kei picked up the remainder of the cases of seeds and shoved it haphazardly behind the counter. Kei gathered the large jug of fertilizer and the bags of groceries that his asshole of a boss had bagged, for once being nice, and before he could figure out how to balance the small bag of seeds on his pile, Hinata had scooped it up.

The silent walk was almost unbearable, but Kei focused on the strain that the damned jug of fertilizer and the twin bags of groceries were giving his arms. By the time the two of them passed by the old bus station, Kei felt the almost imperceptible tremble creep through him that flexing muscles couldn’t fully erase. 

“So, you still like dinosaurs?”

Kei looked at Hinata, and before he could call him on the non-sequitur, the various looks on Hinata’s face moved quickly through excited to flabbergasted, to scared, until finally, it rested on dejected. As Hinata absently kicked at the weeds growing along the dirt road in a studious effort not to engage in conversation, Kei felt pangs of guilt, as casual social situations were never his forte. He remained silent for the rest of the mercifully short trip.

After Hinata mumbled his thanks and got his parcels inside of the house, Kei robotically answered the required pleasantries. He turned his attention back down the dirt road, and left the setting sun warm his back as he returned home. The lengthened shadows drew his remaining energy out of him, so that by the time he reached his house, the sun was low on the horizon, and Kei was glad to be home so that he could curl up in bed and sleep off the awkwardness of the day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_ Kei looked down at his hands, and clearly saw the bandages that always covered his hands when he was ten and still played volleyball on the beach with his brother. When seventeen year old Akiteru entered Kei’s field of vision, he immediately knew which nightmare this would be, and recoiled. _

_ Excited words left Kei’s mouth. “Your girlfriend sounds cool! She plays volleyball and  _ everything. _ ” _

_ Kei, in his older age and experience, saw that Akiteru’s smile didn’t reach his eyes, but that didn’t stop the enthusiastic “Yep!” that came as his answer. _

_ Kei wanted to shout, “You’re lying! I don’t care, just don’t lie!”, but his dream-memory proceeded as it happened as if he were in a movie. _

_ “Whoa, that’s awesome!” The enthusiasm bubbled out of Kei’s mouth unbidden, and as the scene shifted, Kei’s heart ached at the events he knew were about to unfold. _

_ The bandages were no longer on Kei’s hands, and on that particular day, Yamaguchi had the brilliant idea to ask Akiteru how to improve their receives. They ran up the hill to the old community center where Akiteru volunteered, and as the two young boys searched the building, they were left utterly confused at where the older teen had gone. _

_ Kei went to sit in his thinking spot, a small patch of trees behind the building, when he heard rustling in the bushes beyond. Curious, Kei slowly moved forward to investigate, hiding behind the old trees that were prevalent in this small patch of woods. As Kei peeked around the tree, he caught sight of two teenage boys caught in a passionate embrace. Kei couldn’t get a good look at who the second boy was, but he could clearly see the back of Udai Tenma, high school first year and star of the high school volleyball team of which Akiteru was also a member, reaching up into the front of the other’s boy’s shirt. _

_ Kei felt his face flush as, even then, he recognized what he was witnessing, but as he went to turn away, he heard a familiar voice. _

_ “More,” it commanded. _

_ Tenma laughed, and as he moved downward, it finally revealed the identity of the other boy. _

_ It was Akiteru. _

_ Kei was rooted to the spot in fear and realization that enough of his admiration of his brother was rooted in a lie, which broke suddenly when Takahashi, the local grump, called out to his dog from the other side of the tree patch. The equally startled teens jumped from their hiding spot, looking extra rumpled. _

_ The last thing that Kei saw was Akiteru’s crestfallen face at Takahashi’s yelling, and Yamaguchi’s surprised face as Kei fled from the woods. _

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kei woke with a start, a sheen of sweat coating his body. He looked over at the alarm clock, and seeing the ungodly-early-but-doable 5:30 am, Kei winced as he got up for the day. He padded over to the shower, looking forward to the hot water clearing his head.

It was inconvenient that this particular nightmare would crop up at this time. Kei had watched as Akiteru was bullied and ostracized, until he came home covered in bruises and adults used him as a cautionary tale to keep children in line with social norms, simply because he was caught with a boy. Kei felt powerless to stop his brother’s suffering, but the admission that he had been there that day lay heavy on his tongue, unspoken, no matter how much he had understood.

And how Kei understood. In grade five, just as the other boys were talking about how pretty Kiyoko was and how great and overwhelming to date someone as beautiful as her, Kei realized (later, to his horror), that Ueno, the gym teacher, caused him to blush and stutter just like Noya still occasionally did around his crush. Kei didn’t want to be his brother, the punching bag, the bad example, the outcast, and worked hard to become the invisible, diligent scholar-athlete with perfect marks and an okay sports record who changed in a bathroom stall at school to avoid suspicion. 

As Kei washed his hair, he tried his best to slow his breathing, the adrenaline and bad memories making each heartbeat known. After drying off and dressing, he made a short trek to the old, abandoned community centre to sit in the tire swing hung vertically like a big letter “O” and think as the sun rose.

The cool, spring air was not yet heavy with pollen, but Kei could see the trees blossom, their leafy buds having burst open less than a week before. Objectively, his mood should have improved, but as he watched Hinata walk towards a decidedly not-open Sakanoshita, Kei felt it deteriorate into something beyond foul.

From his vantage point, Kei could easily see Hinata spin around uselessly, and before he could stew in his own bad mood at the sight of the new resident, he felt a sharp jab to his ribs. “Fuck off, Yamaguchi,” Kei groused, attempting to bat away the other’s hand as he went in for a second, predictable attack.

“You’re getting too moody again, Tsukki.” Yamaguchi stood beside Kei, and they took a moment to watch as Hinata frantically apologized to Takahashi for knocking him over inadvertently. It may have been a mean-spirited laugh, but it was a laugh all the same. Rather than glaring at the old man for helping ruin his brother’s life, Kei instead got to laugh at the serendipity of the moment.

When Yamaguchi didn’t join in, Kei turned to him to find an unreadable expression on his friend’s face. “You know, he’s gay.”

“What? Old Man Takahashi? That would explain a whole bunch of things right there.”

Kei didn’t duck quickly enough, as Yamaguchi hit him on the back of the head. “I meant Hinata, and you know it. I caught him mumbling to himself about his ex-boyfriend last time I left the clinic.” Yamaguchi turned towards the scene in front of him, and snickered as Hinata looked about ready to drop onto the ground and plead for his life. “Oh man, this is classic.”

Kei rubbed at the sore spot on the back of his head, and turned his attention away from where Hinata was flapping his arms wildly in apparent anxiety, and toward Yamaguchi. “Why, do you think all gay guys are attracted to one another?” 

Yamaguchi gave an exasperated sigh. “No, it’s more like—” Yamaguchi gesticulated wildly as he searched for the words— “Don’t immediately give up hope at happiness just because you think you’re going to be rejected. I haven’t seen you blush this much since middle school and Ueno was still teaching gym.”

Kei levelled a glare at Yamaguchi just as Hinata walked into a tree trying to escape from the old man's ire. “You think I’m going to find happiness with that level of stupidity?”

Yamaguchi let out a howl of laughter at the sight in the plaza. “If nothing else, he’d be entertaining.”

Yamaguchi looked down at his watch, and catching the time, he cursed under his breath about being late for work. “Gotta go. Just give him a chance? Don’t be you for a couple days?”

Kei slouched, resting his chin on the tire tread, and pouted at the new information that he had to process.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Normally, Kei was able to sort out his thoughts at the same time as moving boxes in the back room of Sakanoshita after an order arrived. The repetitive movements kept his body moving, and as the room steadily became more organized and tidy, his thought processes became more efficient. It was the one good thing about working manual labour for pennies.

The day after Yamaguchi confronted him on the tire swing, Kei left the shop after being extra efficient with the order, and his thoughts still in disarray. Kei was distracted enough that as he headed towards the beach, he nearly bumped into Tendou and Hinata as they headed toward the mountains in the opposite direction. Kei saw the star struck looks that Hinata was giving Tendou, eagerly brandishing an old, but functional fishing rod in his hand. After a few small apologies, Kei watched the pair leave, and he felt disgust curling into his stomach, deeper than any bad food he had ever eaten.

The sinking feeling in his gut stayed with Kei all day, until at supper, his mother asked, “Kei, sweetie, are you all right? You’ve barely eaten a thing.” 

It was true that Kei had mostly pushed the food around his plate in a vain hope that the pit of weird nausea would go away if the small bits of meat were in a different spot, but that stupid idea didn’t work. “I’m fine, Mom,” Kei lied.

Kei caught the concerned look on his mother’s face, and instead of suffering her pitying looks for any longer, he decided to cover his food, store it in the fridge for later. As he closed the door to his room, a worn, plush dinosaur on his bookshelf caught his attention. He grabbed it, and as he hugged the familiar, favourite toy, Kei realized that yes, he still liked dinosaurs, and yes, he would like Hinata to smile at him the way he was smiling at Tendou.

It didn’t take long for Kei to fall asleep, the soft plush still nestled in his arms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On his next day off, Kei resumed his position on the tire swing, watching the proceedings in the plaza below as he absently kicked at the ground and got the whole apparatus moving. He was imagining a conversation with Yamaguchi, where his friend was calling him stupid for not trying anything and stewing in his own emotions. It didn’t help that Hinata was playing with Ushijima’s baby chicks at the taller man’s market booth in the plaza, and Kei had to remove his glasses in an attempt to prevent the spread of the heavy, sickening jealousy that was coursing through his gut. When Kei blankly looked over the plaza, he saw the small, orange blob started moving towards the dirt road that lead out of town and towards the farm.

Kei’s blindness didn’t help the pit in his stomach as he watched the Hinata-shaped figure walk away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Kei woke up to another day off, the restlessness in his limbs and Yamaguchi’s phantom voice saying, “Just give him a chance,” rang through his brain as an annoying mantra that he couldn’t escape. Kei dressed and ate the leftovers from the night before, still only able to eat a couple bites due to the fluttering in his stomach at his plans for the day. By the time he had cleaned up and slowly got out of his own way, it was mid-morning.

His footsteps dragged in the dust as Kei made his way to the farm, and as he drew closer to the Hinata homestead, the mild protest in his stomach turned into a full-blown riot. The only thing that kept him from turning around and returning home was imagining the look on Yamaguchi’s face, the same one that Kei received when he quit the volleyball team halfway through his final year of high school. Kei could own the fact that he was a coward who deserved very little of the few good things that life threw his way, but he was too scared to face a disappointed Yamaguchi.

By the time the tree-lined road opened into the open field, Kei saw Hinata standing over a relatively small vegetable patch, looking between the plants in his hand and the perfectly tilled ground. As Kei forward to investigate the odd scene, he was able to identify tons of weeds still in the plot, and several radish plants in Hinata's hand. Kei crossed his arms and tilted his head as he took in the tableau in front of him. 

“You know, it's a little early to be picking your radishes.”

Hinata face contorted into a defeated grimace, and he mumbled, “Thanks, I suck at this.”

Kei softened as he pointed to the most obvious weed. “You see that one that looks like grass?” Hinata looked and nodded. “You don't want that in there.” 

Before Hinata's face relaxed, he buried his face in his hands, and Kei heard him release the breath he was holding. “I guess I have a lot to learn.” When Hinata looked up, there were patches of dirt along his cheeks, and looked Kei straight in the face. Kei nearly flinched at how brightly the shorter man was smiling at him, and was mildly horrified at how he was attracted to this grubby little gremlin before him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The air between Kei and Hinata changed dramatically after their first successful conversation. Now, when Hinata would enter Sakanoshita to gather supplies, he smiled that same super-bright smile that made Kei’s heart clench and his eyes tear up, except Kei did not have to put in any effort to gain it. Increasingly, Kei found himself making his way to the Hinata farm on his days off, forgoing the tire swing, the beach, and even the rarely-used mountain lake retreat. Kei was an addict, plain and simple, and Hinata’s smile was his drug of choice.

Even more than before, Kei noticed Hinata as he made his way throughout town. It was puzzling, watching Hinata walk quickly away from the library, his nose deep in a pile of handwritten notes. He didn't even break his stride as he studied his papers, and only missed knocking over Takahashi when the elder called out, “Watch where you're going, boy!”, prompting a fearful apology.

(It was a shame, Kei thought, that Hinata didn't knock him over again.)

By the time that Kei arrived at the farmhouse, he was just in time to see Hinata crouching over the now well-worn notes and two small jars of dirt weighing them down from the wind. His fluffy orange hair fluttered in the breeze, and a look of excitement took over his face reminded Kei of childlike wonder. Hinata added some water to each jar, swished it around to mix into a viscous mud. Hinata poured a small amount of baking soda into the first jar, and looked a little disappointed as the powder sat on top of the mud. As soon as he added the vinegar, it fizzled gently, like a small volcano science experiment.

“That's actually pretty clever. Looks like you do have a brain up there.” 

Hinata glared up at Kei. "I _can_ read, Stingyshima. I went to the library and the book said something about acidic soil—" Hinata motioned to the messy notes that were stained with mud— "and I remembered making baking soda volcanoes with my sister when she was younger."

Kei was impressed. While Hinata looked over a single page of notes, he grabbed one of the discarded papers. It truly was a mess: not only did Hinata have barely legible handwriting, he had no concept of spacing, so his lines took up most of the page, and his clarifications were shoved in between the words to the point where Kei had to spin the page to even attempt to get all the information, and that was before he took the mud into account. Kei did pick out the words "acidic" and "lime", where the latter was heavily underlined.

"I don't know how you can even read this. All you need now is a corkboard and some red string and you could pass for a conspiracy theorist." Kei offered the gently crumpled page back to its owner.

Hinata grabbed the page back from Kei and set about raking pine needles.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the days grew warmer and Kei graduated from needing sweaters in the morning to being comfortable, he walked in on Hinata going full-barbarian on a tree stump with a small handaxe. The litany of sound that escaped from Hinata’s mouth was mostly incomprehensible, but Kei managed to pick out “Kunimi”, “Kageyama”, and a couple of curse words that he previously thought Hinata incapable of uttering.

“You know, there is such a thing as ‘the right tool for the job?’” Kei leaned against a nearby tree, a small smirk on his face.

Hinata waved the handaxe around half-heartedly. “Unless you can think of something better, this will have to do.”

Kei smiled to himself, and entered the shack where he knew Hinata stored his tools. He quickly located  a larger two-handed axe, and as he was about to leave the storage shed, he saw an extendable pole saw and a set of shears. Grabbing the extra tools, Kei had the idea of cheering up his distraught friend by helping clear the jungle in front of the house. 

When Kei emerged from the shack, Hinata looked relieved at the sight of the much larger axe. Kei had to give Hinata the proper credit: despite being relatively unpracticed at swinging the sharp tool, he took Kei's directions very well, cutting deep grooves into the trunk to kill the tree and release its sap, and his axe found its mark more often than not.

Kei turned his attention to the rose bushes in front of him, alternating between the pruning shears for the thinner twigs to shape the thorny mass and the pole saw to deal with the larger branches. This was not the gentle, gradual pruning that was generally recommended by gardening gurus, but drastic cuts that took the bushes from being taller than Kei himself to being barely at knee level, still covering the lattice that rimmed the bottom of Hinata's front deck, but opening up the area for a better view.

While Kei cleaned up the edges of the left bush, he imagined a air of deck chairs, low and comfortable, looking over the gentle slope towards the forest. Kei could see himself reach out and take Hinata's hand, and—

Before Kei finished the thought, he shook himself out of his reverie. Instead, he turned around toward Hinata, and asked, “So why did you move to Torono? There has to be more of a reason than ‘free house in the middle of nowhere’ to get you to move.”

Hinata laughed darkly. “My ex was making my life hell. He was particularly good at that.” He waved around the axe as punctuation. “Still is making my life hell, actually.”

Kei didn't miss the pronouns that Hinata used to describe his ex. Between the internal scream of the possibility of his daydream actually being feasible and the ghost of Yamaguchi's voice singing a soft  _ I told you so,  _ Kei was amazed that he simply responded with a “huh.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At Hinata’s admission, Kei he knew that he needed help in order to end the tense stalemate between himself and the other man. As much as Yamaguchi tried to be of help, he was also straight, and didn’t have the same safety concerns in his coffee dates with Yachi that Kei faced every day if he wasn’t careful about every action he made. Instead, Kei knew only one person who could speak to the entirety of his experience.

Unfortunately, he still needed Yamaguchi’s help, as Kei didn’t have a car, and Akiteru lived several towns away, along with his long-time boyfriend, Tenma. Kei knocked on Yamaguchi’s door with a set of five knocks, and after waiting several minutes for an answer, Kei knocked again. He was rearing up for another round of pounding on Yamaguchi’s door, when it opened to reveal a very angry friend.

“What?” Yamaguchi glared at Kei, his hair rumpled, and the buttons on his shirt hastily done up.

Kei wanted to turn away from his friend, the shame creeping up his face, but he held his focus. “I need your help. I need to talk to Akiteru: he’s the only one who can truly help. I can’t exactly do this over the phone, either.”

The anger dropped from Yamaguchi’s face, even as he continued to block entry into the small house. “Wow, I mean, you two haven’t talked in years.”

Kei scratched the back of his head. “I know. But that wasn’t really his fault?”

Yamaguchi snorted, the small laugh escaping at Kei’s massive understatement about the complicated relationship he held with his brother. “Yeah, I’ll help. Find out his schedule, and I’ll even take time off from the clinic to make sure you get there.” It was proof of how much Yamaguchi cared: Kei knew that his friend didn’t get much more work time than he did, and coveted every shift he could get.

Kei’s eyes widened. “Thank you, you’re the best friend that I have.”

“I’m the only friend that you have”, Yamaguchi corrected, a wry smile on his face. It became clear that Kei was not willing to argue the point, so Yamaguchi added, “You owe me gas money and fries. Lots of fries.”

Before Yamaguchi could close the door on Kei’s face, Kei noticed a dainty pair of shoes in the entryway that definitely did not belong to his friend. Kei smiled as he turned to return home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as Akiteru picked up the phone on the other end, his enthusiasm at Kei finally reaching out was overwhelming, and reminded him about why he didn't talk to his brother often. They quickly set a time that they could meet up a couple days after, and once the plans were in place, Kei found that the time flew away, until he found himself cooped up in Yamaguchi’s too-small car, and his knees were closer to his ears than was strictly comfortable, even with the passenger’s seat pushed back as far as it could go. As Yamaguchi turned the key in the ignition, the car backfired, but the engine turned over, so Yamaguchi called it a win.

Still, Kei turned to his best friend, and said, “Your car is a piece of shit.”

Yamaguchi shifted from first gear into reverse. “It’s my piece of shit, which is still better than what you have.”

If the roads were in better repair, the sound of Yamaguchi smoothly shifting between gears would have been smoother, and closer together, but the size and frequency of the potholes on the roads leading out of Torono made safe passage slow going. After a few minutes, they were able to use the whole road to dodge the obstacles, which became less frequent as the mile markers counted down. The drive itself was peaceful, as Yamaguchi had the radio blaring on the singular non-country music station, which filled the air as they passed more and more highway exits.

Finally, Yamaguchi turned onto the off-ramp that lead to where Akiteru’s house was. It was not the big city that Hinata seemingly fled, but it was definitely larger than Torono, with enough residential districts that people could maintain relative anonymity. It was not a trip that Yamaguchi took often, but he didn’t need prompting to find the small duplex on the other side of the main commercial plaza, neatly maintained and otherwise non-descript.

Yamaguchi idled the car as Kei opened the door. “I’ll be back in two hours? Hitoka asked me to pick up some paints for her.”

Wordlessly, Kei nodded, the anxiety of the moment finally catching up with him. Before Yamaguchi could call Kei a wimp, he turned and walked towards the front door. The sputtering of the car grew more distant, and as Kei reached out his hand to knock on the door, it opened to reveal his older brother.

Akiteru was shorter and stockier than Kei, but it was not by much in their account. Even though they shared more than a passing resemblance to each other, their demeanours were very different. Kei was withdrawn, cold, and aloof, where Akiteru was warm and inviting. Akiteru's face dropped at the sight of Kei. “You've lost weight.” Akiteru's obvious statement hung heavy in the air, and Kei shrugged his noncommittal agreement.

Akiteru quickly ushered Kei inside, chattering mindlessly about how Tenma wouldn't be back for a bit, the house was completely theirs,  and then went off to the kitchen to make tea.

Kei wandered aimlessly for a moment, until he found the living room. It was neat in a slightly modern style, completely unlike the kitschy furniture their mother favoured. The couch and armchair looked square but comfortable, and Kei gingerly sat down in the unfamiliar surroundings. The one tendency that Akiteru inherited from their mother was the mass of pictures that decorated every surface and many of the walls. A good portion of them were of Akiteru and his partner, smiling widely. Kei stopped at the small picture frame closest to his position on the couch. He picked up the frame, and studied Tenma's brilliant smile as Akiteru kissed his cheek, still rosy from the drinks in their hands.

“Yeah, that one was taken a couple year ago at a friend's bachelor party.” Akiteru set down the cup of tea on the small table in front of Kei, and took a seat in the armchair. “But I know you didn't come all the way here to look at my pictures.”

Kei looked at the ground, and hesitated before looking at his brother. “How did you know Tenma was the one?”

Akiteru looked puzzled at Kei's question. “Why are you asking m— Oh.” Realization washed over Akiteru's face. Kei saw the fear he hadn't seen since Akiteru left home at eighteen return to his face.

“Yamaguchi knows about me, but he doesn't understand what it really means back home.” The  _ and you do _ was unspoken, but still understood.

“So tell me about him. If you conned your friend to drive you two hours in a death trap to come here, it has to be good.” Akiteru leaned back into his chair, and brought the teacup close to his mouth.

It look a moment, but Kei launched into how Hinata took over his grandfather's farm, and how he was winning over most of the town. The more that Kei unloaded his heart, the wider Akiteru smiled over his drink. Kei's cup remained untouched.

“I think you know what you have to do.” Akiteru sipped his tea. “If I didn't catch on because you were being cautious, then I think it won't be the catastrophe you think it will be.”

At that point, Tenma returned home, and the long hair softened his face from the intensity he displayed during his time on the volleyball court in high school even more than the fifteen years he had aged. As a greeting, he curled his arm around Akiteru's neck, pulling him into a back hug, and bent over (not that far) to kiss the top of his head.

“You never really know for sure before you jump in, but you may find that not only do you have a shot, but it's beyond your imagination.”

At that bit of advice, Kei relaxed into his seat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time that Yamaguchi avoided the last of the potholes on the approach into Torono, it was nearly midnight, and Kei was exhausted. The large empty carton of fries lay abandoned in the backseat, and the gas tank was full, leaving Kei less indebted to his best friend. A quick shower later, Kei fell into bed, barely undressing himself before sleep overtook him.

When morning broke, the sun was higher on the horizon first thing in the morning than he had remembered seeing in years, and his stomach grumbled with hunger for the first time in weeks. Kei's mind still swirled with Akiteru's advice, to just go for it. He was glad that Akiteru counselled him not to give up caution— just maybe relax his vigilance ever so slightly when around Hinata.

Feeling the warm, early summer air on his skin, Kei made his way up the mountain, to his thinking spot by the lake. He had always found the lush forest on the first plateau particularly soothing, and as he turned the final corner to his favourite tree, Kei saw the spot already occupied. He didn't mind— Hinata looked peaceful, soft, and free of worries as he slept on the lake shore.

For once, Kei was not jealous, because he finally had hope that he would find the same.


	3. Locker Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a particularly bad day with overworked muscles, Tsukishima shows Hinata Torono's bath house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where it earns the E rating... So if you see this note and not comfy with smut, please hit the back button for both our benefits.
> 
> If this is what you are really waiting for, you're welcome.

Shouyou leaned back against the tree as he balanced his fishing rod in between his legs. It was good to have a day to relax, especially since the day before, Shouyou had worked most of the day to reclaim more of his farmland. His muscles protested at the hard work to clear tree stumps and small bushes into something he could plant crops on. As Shouyou closed his eyes to fully feel the warmth of the sunbeam shining down on him, he took a little bit of time to reflect on how he went from an unfit city slicker with no knowledge of farming to making his living at it. Whether or not he was successful at it was still up for debate, but he was still willing to try.

“You know, fishing usually is more successful when you keep your eyes on the water.” Shouyou woke up with a yelp and a jolt, and wiped reflexively at his mouth as he looked up (way up) at Tsukishima towering over him. He had an amused smirk on his face as he looked over Shouyou.

“You know, I worked pretty hard yesterday. I think I’m up to half an acre of usable land.” Shouyou shifted in his spot, and as he did, his eyes widened as his muscles made themselves known. “Actually, I think I worked too hard yesterday.”

A couple months before, Shouyou would have braced himself for a scathing remark, but that was before Tsukishima came around to the farm to check up on him periodically. Instead, Tsukishima held out his hand, and said, “Come on, I know a spot that will help you a lot.”

Shouyou took the offered hand, and with a groan, pulled himself to his feet. He packed up his grandfather's tackle box, and made to follow Tsukishima deeper into the mountains.

It wasn’t far from Shouyou’s fishing spot in the mountains, but the stairs were not super noticeable except for the fact that they definitely were built by humans and were maintained. The forest path led to a large glass building by a train platform, which was currently devoid of any activity. As Tsukishima led him closer to the building, Shouyou saw the sign that read “Torono Public Bath House.”

“The water is super warm,” Tsukishima explained. “I come here when Ukai has a particularly big order come in.”

Shouyou entered the building, and an embarrassing sound of wonder left his lips. “This was always here?” Shouyou was incredulous at the possibility of being able to soothe his aching muscles.

Tsukishima smiled a rare, true smile as he entered the men’s locker room. As Shouyou followed, he looked around at the clinically white tiles and the banks of lockers that preceded the showers. Tsukishima opened one, and Shouyou saw that he kept a good amount of stuff here, including spare towels as well as dedicated soaps obviously meant just for here. Tsukishima thrust a towel in Shouyou’s direction, and then started to undress himself.

Shouyou found it hard to breathe as he did his best not to stare at the display in front of him. It wasn’t Tsukishima’s fault that Shouyou found himself quite attracted to the snarky blond, and Shouyou padded off to his own corner to undress himself and get ready for the showers. As he washed the dirt from the day away, Shouyou only took his gaze away from the patch of tiles that had a subtly different colour when Tsukishima passed him the soap, and resolutely averted his eyes.

Finally clean, Shouyou wrapped himself up in his towel, and found that Tsukishima had done the same. He let out the breath he didn’t realize that he had been holding, and then looked over at the other man. The thick, rectangular glasses were off, and the small indents on his nose were the only evidence that he needed them. Tsukishima looked a little more relaxed, and the confidence that he exuded as well as the lack of glasses made Shouyou’s mouth go dry at the sight.

Tsukishima left the room through the door placed by the showers, and as Shouyou followed, he saw a large pool of water, larger than most baths he had been to. Shouyou heard something about geothermal energy that he didn’t quite understand, but Tsukishima was already in the water, which was hip deep on him. Shouyou folded his towel and joined him in the water.

The warm water caressed him, Shouyou closed his eyes, and did not hold back the long moan at how good it felt. “This is perfect,” he breathed, and nothing else seemed to matter in the moment other than him crouching slightly in the water so that the only thing in the air was his head.

He was faintly aware of soft splashing before he felt a pair of hands gently grab his shoulders. Tsukishima didn’t seem perturbed by the obscene noises coming from Shouyou, and instead, started to rub circles along Shouyou’s shoulder blades. The pain from the tight muscles being manipulated was satisfying, especially as Shouyou already felt his range of motion improve.

Shouyou felt an electric tingling creeping down his neck and through his spine, and Tsukishima’s breath ghosted over the shell of Shouyou’s ear. “If I had known that a little hot water was enough to make you moan, I would have brought you here earlier.” The hands slowed down, but Tsukishima pushed even harder into the hard muscle knots, and even if Shouyou was making an attempt to be quiet, he would not have been able to at painful relief he was now getting.

“I’ve seen how you look at me,” Tsukishima continued, his hands trailing down until they reached Shouyou’s sides, gently kneading his obliques, which were steadily becoming more sculpted the more Shouyou farmed. “You think you’re subtle, but you’re not.”

A soft splash of water later, and Shouyou felt Tsukishima’s hands on his thighs. This was not something that Shouyou would normally be able to ask Tsukishima to do for him, but all the sensations of the water, the heat, and the massage left any lingering protest back in the locker room. The pressure felt amazing, and before Shouyou could lose his balance due to the pleasure, he felt Tsukishima steady him so that Shouyou stayed upright. “I want you too,” Tsukishima’s voice was almost a whisper. “You don’t know for how long.”

Shouyou spun around in Tsukishima’s grip, and used the newfound mobility that the bath water gave him to wrap his arms around Tsukishima’s shoulders and his legs around the other’s waist to kiss him passionately. The slip of water made it so that Shouyou felt Tsukishima’s interest between his cheeks, and Shouyou was less embarrassed about how hard he was after Tsukishima’s ministrations.

Tsukishima stumbled back, until he was sitting on a ledge meant for relaxing. It was the perfect height for Tsukishima’s head to stay out of the water, and for Hinata to straddle Tsukishima’s lap with his knees and still have the majority of his body submerged in the water. In this new position, Shouyou took control over the situation.

Shouyou broke the kiss only to latch onto Tsukishima's shoulder, and that allowed him to fully press himself against the other’s front. He gave small nibbles to the bony ridge connecting the other’s neck to the shoulder, rocking back along Tsukishima's dick still nestled in his crack as he sought his own friction against abdominal muscles. This was answered by Tsukishima letting out a soft groan as he tilted his hips upwards to press closer to Shouyou.

After a particularly strong bite, Tsukishima's eyes rolled back, and Shouyou found himself out of Tsukishima's embrace. Tsukishima lifted Shouyou, turned him around, and placed tiny hands over the edge of the pool. Shouyou backed up, slotting himself against the other man, and felt Tsukishima's length against his back.

Tsukishima's hands travelled down Shouyou's body, finally resting on the outside of his thighs. With a small amount of pressure, Shouyou grasped at what Tsukishima was trying to accomplish. Smiling as he pressed his thighs together, Shouyou felt an intrusion where his legs met his torso.

It was not the most comfortable position, and the water did little to lubricate Tsukishima's passage between his legs, but Shouyou’s dick twitched at every thrust that nudged his sack. Tsukishima had braced himself against the pool edge, his larger hands covering Shouyou's smaller ones, and Shouyou felt Tsukishima’s breath in his hair, trying to suppress the groan of pleasure that was amplified by the friction and the warmth of the water.

Tsukishima managed to keep a brutal rhythm, and his pants of effort harmonized with Shouyou's strangled cries every time he pounded home. With muffled groans, Tsukishima began to lose his rhythm, and his hands tightened almost painfully over Shouyou's. With a final push backwards, Shouyou arched his back, allowing him to see the cloud of white pooling in the water as Tsukishima pulsed between his legs.

Even though his cock twitched at the sight, it was not enough for Shouyou to finish. Tsukishima’s heavy body slumped over Shouyou's back, and the smaller man was left to support the both of them for a moment. It wasn't long before Tsukishima pushed himself upright, and Shouyou turned around to face him. Tsukishima leaned down, and as he captured Shouyou in a tenderly passionate kiss, he caressed Shouyou's cheeks, and Shouyou used the weightlessness of the water to hop easily on Tsukishima's narrow hips, meeting him easily where he stood.

Though the pace had slowed considerably, Shouyou's erection had not flagged. He thrust absently against Tsukishima's abdomen, until Tsukishima's hands travelled down Shouyou's body. Finding purchase underneath Shouyou's arms, Tsukishima lifted the smaller man, placing him so that he was sitting on the pool edge and only his feet were dangling in the water. The momentary chill of the air was replaced with an internal heat as Shouyou took in every ripple of lean muscle as Tsukishima flexed in order to place him on the pool edge.

Shouyou didn’t have to wait long to figure out what Tsukishima was planning, because he was engulfed by a large, rough hand. Tsukishima hunched over, his face nearly level with Shouyou's dick. With a lick of his lips, Tsukishima looked upward into Shouyou’s eyes, and paused. He was close enough that Shouyou felt hot breath against his length, but remained there, seemingly teasing, until Shouyou groaned in frustration, “What are you waiting for?”

Tsukishima smiled dangerously, and while the water that Shouyou left was warm, the other man's tongue was warmer, and that heat spread outwards until it enveloped his entire lower half as Tsukishima licked a stripe from tip to base. As Tsukishima looked up at Shouyou with hooded eyes, he took Shouyou fully in his mouth, and a strangled cry escaped Shouyou at the sensation. Small hands tangled in blond curls, and as much as Shouyou wanted to push Tsukishima downwards, Shouyou tempered his movements to a single, small thrust upward into Tsukishima’s waiting warmth.

Shouyou watched as Tsukishima wrapped his right hand around Shouyou’s length, moving it in tandem with his mouth. Shouyou’s grip tightened until Tsukishima let out a muffled grunt, and removed his hand. Shouyou removed his hands as soon as he felt the hand leave his cock, as if they had been set on fire. Before he could apologize, Tsukishima took a deep breath and swallowed, taking him even deeper.

Shouyou didn't have long to take in the sight of Tsukishima swallowing his length, as his face flushed red and the only part of his body that felt cool at all were his feet still dangling into the hot pool of water. Tsukishima's nose nudged at the coarse, curly hair at the base of Shouyou's cock, and as he looked upwards, Shouyou could see defiance tinged with a measure of being eager to please. The pressure in him reached a tipping point, until Shouyou saw stars and heard his yell as if it came from someone else.

At the same time as Tsukishima lifted himself off of Shouyou, Shouyou slumped over Tsukishima's head. A scoff came from somewhere near Shouyou's middle, forcing Shouyou to fight the sleep that was quickly taking over his body. As Shouyou slipped into the warm water once again, he looked over at Tsukishima, whose handsome face was not pinched into any contortions of disapproval, leaving only a serenity that Shouyou had never seen on the other man's face.

Feeling a certain sense of right, Shouyou slid over into Tsukishima's lap, and as he did, he felt Tsukishima take him within his embrace. Shouyou leaned his head back onto Tsukishima's shoulder, and as he did, he felt the featherlight ghost tickle of a gentle kiss on the his temple. It seemed Tsukishima was a sap, and he wouldn't take it any other way. 


End file.
